“Not the murderer, but the murdered is guilty!”

As our favourite parody account Darth Putin frequently reminds us, one of the most repeated disinformation tactics is to accuse your counterpart precisely of what you are doing yourself. The aggressor presents himself as the victim and thus strengthens his core internal audience. External audiences that want to defend the aggressor get the “line to take” they can repeat in their local media, discussion forums and other information channels. And external audiences from the non-expert community (and sometimes even some solid mainstream media) receive an “alternative fact” that makes it harder for them to distinguish what is the truth, and what is an attempt to hide the facts and mislead.

Thus, as Russia has been preparing for the biggest military exercise since 1981 and was expected to resume airstrikes on the Syrian city of Idlib, pro-regime disinformation-oriented outlets were flooding the information space with groundless accusations, focusing on two regions: Syria and Ukraine.

1. In Syria, the pro-Kremlin outlets accused the West and/or the humanitarian organisation White Helmets of preparing a provocation. Involved in spreading these stories was the main pro-Kremlin weekly show Vesti s Dmitriem Kiselyovym; the Russian Army’s channel TV Zvezda; the most important regime bullhorn for Western audiences, Russia Today (RT) ; and official Kremlin representatives from the ministries of defense and foreign affairs.

2. In Ukraine, where the pro-Kremlin outlets recycled some of the four years old pieces of disinformation about the Ukrainian army supposedly working under the command of NATO; accused Kyiv of plans to launch an offensive in Donbas; and of attempts to spread diseases and poisonings in those parts of Ukraine occupied by Russian and pro-Russian forces. In probably the most absurd outburst, the outlet News Front (that has been linked to Russian secret services by one of its former employees) accused the Crimean Tatars of being guilty of the destabilisation of Crimea.

You want to defend against our manipulation? You are manipulating!

A very similar technique was used also in regular TV news show Vesti, that accused the US Democrats of being willing to turn Facebook into a tool for manipulating voters. In fact, the initiative aims to prevent exactly those kinds of manipulation of public opinion that we have seen during the 2016 US elections, and where substantial evidence has been presented that the actor behind the manipulation via social media was Russia.

An essential part of such disinformation attempts is to deny the obvious and keep repeating that there is no evidence of Russian interference, as we have seen yet again, this time from RIA Novosti.

And Russia Today used one tweet from one Member of Parliament in one NATO country to build a case that “NATO plans to break up Russia”. Of course, there are no such plans – but coming back to the tweet mentioned in the beginning of this text: when the intention of a disinformation campaign is to weaken the West, the EU, NATO, one way to obscure this fact is to keep accusing the West of trying to do the same thing.

No, this is still nonsense, and always will be. No matter how many times you repeat a lie, it will still not become the truth.

New chemical attack to be staged by the White Helmets in Idlib

Additional details: In Syria, preparations are under way for a "provocation" in Idlib, which, will be carried out to justify a US cruise missile attack on Assad's regime. Assad does not have chemical weapons, but now the US is ready to return them to Syria, use them and then . The chemicals have already been delivered to rebel fighters in Idlib in order to stage the chemical attack. White Helmets are planning the provocation. They have already abducted 44 children to use them for realisation of this staged chemical attack.

Earlier, pro-Kremlin disinformation has claimed that both the 2017 attack in Khan Sheikhoun and 2018 in Douma were faked. UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism found Syria’s Government responsible for last year’s attack in Khan Shaykhun. On April 10 2018 Russia vetoed a U.S.-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution that would have created a new inquiry to ascertain responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

In September 2017, the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic summarized 33 separate incidents where it had found use of chemical weapons. Since then there have been several additional suspected chemical attacks. Between March 2013 and March 2017, the Commission documented 25 incidents of chemical weapons use in the Syrian Arab Republic, of which 20 were proven to have been perpetrated by government forces and used primarily against civilians.

The first European-Crimean Chamber of Commerce to be opened in Slovakia

Additional details:The first European-Crimean Chamber of Commerce will be opened in Slovakia. An agreement in this regard has been signed by the director of "Krymkongress" Rustam Muratov, Slovak deputy Peter Marček and businessman Roman Busch, after the visit of a Slovak delegation to Crimea on 1 August. The delegation consisted of 12 persons.

Additional details: [Referring to a tweet by the Russian Embassy in South Africa, including a photo of what appears to be actors on a film set.] This image accompanied a claim that “English-speaking foreign specialists” had arrived in Syria to stage a chlorine chemical attack in Hama province.

The photo does indeed show a film set, but not “foreign specialists.” In fact, the photo is of the set of Revolution Man, a film produced by Syrian state media. Read more here: https://www.polygraph.info/a/fact-check-russian-embassy-tweets-misleading-photo-about-syria-/29458058.html and here https://euvsdisinfo.eu/a-movie-as-new-evidence-on-fake-chemical-attack-again/

Additional details: [Referring to several past cases of chemical weapons use in Syria, including in Eastern Ghouta and Khan Sheikhoun] Russia has called for inspections by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), but that Russia’s “Western colleagues” moved to block these inspections.

Western countries did not try to block OPCW inspections in Syria. In fact, Russia and its Syrian government ally have impeded the OPCW’s work several times. For more information, see https://www.polygraph.info/a/the-west-is-not-blocking-chemical-weapons-inspections-in-syria-/29462105.html and https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/white-helmets-are-preparing-false-flag-chemical-attack/

Baltic countries are typical replica states with no own political history and tradition

Additional details: The Baltic countries are typical “replica states” with the absence of their own political history and tradition.

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The main task is to forever tear off the Baltic region from Russia and Russian influence and to raise the younger generations of Latvians, Estonians, and Lithuanians in the spirit of total Russophobia and admiration for the West.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania became independent in 1918. Three countries were occupied and illegally incorporated first by the Soviet Union, then by Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1944, and again by the Soviet Union from 1944 to 1991, when they regained the independence: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_the_Baltic_states, https://www.britannica.com/place/Baltic-states/Independence-and-the-20th-century

See more how the myth of Russophobia is used in pro-Kremlin disinformation: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/the-russophobia-myth-appealing-to-the-lowest-feelings/

Additional details: The United States sold Ukraine defective Javelin anti-tank missiles. As proof, the media published a letter from the state Kyiv design bureau Luch to the National Security and Defence Council Secretary Oleksander Turchynov, who asked the company to review the reliability of the Javelins after they allegedly failed to fire during a training demonstration on May 22.

Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council called the "Luch" letter a fake. The Council never asked Luch to assess the Javelins and never received any letter from them about the missiles. Further debunk by StopFake: https://www.stopfake.org/en/fake-us-sells-ukraine-defective-javelins/

Additional details: There is a cyber operation centre deployed in Finland with the help of the US.

Finland and Sweden are being dragged into NATO structures. An agreement was signed in May providing for their full-fledged participation in NATO drills and for possible use of its troops and weapons control systems. In exchange, NATO has been granted unimpeded access to the airspace and territorial waters of these countries.

The comments by the Russian Minister of Defence, Sergei Shoygu, in Moscow on Tuesday with regard to Finland’s and Sweden’s cooperation with NATO contain a number of inaccuracies and factual errors, Finnish defence ministry responded: http://www.defmin.fi/en/topical/press_releases/comments_by_russian_defence_minister_sergei_shoygu_on_finland_s_and_sweden_s_nato_cooperation_inaccurate.9414.news

Finland has not set up any cyber-operation centre with the assistance of the United States, as Shoygu indicates. Instead, Finland hosts a multinational European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, which was established in 2017.

Finland does not participate fully in NATO exercises nor does it have full access to NATO’s command-and-control system, contrary to what Shoygu claims. Moreover, NATO does not have unrestricted access to Finland’s airspace and territorial waters. Any foreign vessels or aircraft wishing to enter Finland’s territory must have authorisation from the relevant authority, which in Finland is the Defence Forces. Such authorisation is always case-specific and subject to national discretion.

Shoygu is incorrect in saying that Finland is being pulled into NATO. Finland’s position on its military non-alignment is clear and Finland makes its security policy choices independently.

Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist has said that Shoygu's statement was misleading and that Nato countries still require "special permission" to enter Swedish territory.

"Sweden is non-aligned militarily and we make our own decisions. This was an incorrect description," he told Swedish Radio. https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=7012912

Additional details: There is a cyber operation centre deployed in Finland with the help of the US.

Finland and Sweden are being dragged into NATO structures. An agreement was signed in May providing for their full-fledged participation in NATO drills and for possible use of its troops and weapons control systems. In exchange, NATO has been granted unimpeded access to the airspace and territorial waters of these countries.

The comments by the Russian Minister of Defence, Sergei Shoygu, in Moscow on Tuesday with regard to Finland’s and Sweden’s cooperation with NATO contain a number of inaccuracies and factual errors, Finnish defence ministry responded: http://www.defmin.fi/en/topical/press_releases/comments_by_russian_defence_minister_sergei_shoygu_on_finland_s_and_sweden_s_nato_cooperation_inaccurate.9414.news

Finland has not set up any cyber-operation centre with the assistance of the United States, as Shoygu indicates. Instead, Finland hosts a multinational European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, which was established in 2017.

Finland does not participate fully in NATO exercises nor does it have full access to NATO’s command-and-control system, contrary to what Shoygu claims. Moreover, NATO does not have unrestricted access to Finland’s airspace and territorial waters. Any foreign vessels or aircraft wishing to enter Finland’s territory must have authorisation from the relevant authority, which in Finland is the Defence Forces. Such authorisation is always case-specific and subject to national discretion.

Shoygu is incorrect in saying that Finland is being pulled into NATO. Finland’s position on its military non-alignment is clear and Finland makes its security policy choices independently.

Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist has said that Shoygu's statement was misleading and that Nato countries still require "special permission" to enter Swedish territory.

"Sweden is non-aligned militarily and we make our own decisions. This was an incorrect description," he told Swedish Radio. https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=7012912

Citizens of the Republic of Moldova will be stripped of their Romanian passports

Additional details: Citizens of the Republic of Moldova will be stripped of their Romanian passports. According to a new Romanian law, all the documents will have to be changed in order to correspond to a new grammatical revision. The letter "î" will be replaced in most of the cases (e.g. geographical names) with the letter "â". The Moldovan citizens with Romanian passports will have to change their documents.

The headline is misinforming the readers: citizens of the Republic of Moldova will not be stripped of their Romanian passports. According to the new law, mentioned by Stopfals.md, the changes in the identity papers, passports and driving licenses will be made upon request or at the expiry of their validity. No one is obliged to do it immediately.

UEFA award to Georgian football player means pederastisation of football

Additional details: The footballer of Georgia's national football team and Vice-Captain Guram Kashia, who now plays in San Jose, is awarded by UEFA for supporting homosexuals.

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He was awarded for supporting pederasts.

He should not to take part in this Sodomise ceremony.

We call on Kashia not to accept a gift bestowed by pederasts and their bosses and to be remembered as a champion of the continent and not as a champion of Conchitas.

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Some have really decided to annihilate and degenerate us! What these sick people want from us, I don’t understand! We are forced that a man should sleep with a man and a woman with a woman! What do they want, sorry but they even start pederastisation of football.

UEFA granted Guram Kashia its inaugural #EqualGame award for his ‘courageous public stand for equality’. Last year, Kashia wore a rainbow armband during a game for Dutch team SBV Vitesse, and despite facing heavy backlash in Georgia, made further statements in support of equality. According to UEFA, Kashia’s gesture was greeted with an extremely negative and hostile response in certain quarters in his native Georgia. There were even calls for him to renounce playing for the national team. Nevertheless, he was defiant in the face of the abuse and threats he received, insisting he had no regrets about wearing the armband and underlining his full support for diversity and inclusion. https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/about-uefa/news/newsid=2567743.html

Additional details: Relatives of Sergei and Yulia Skripal think Sergei might be dead. The Salisbury hospital staff are so frightened that they refused for any amount of money to take photographs with Sergei.

Additional details: Pentagon is working out a biological war strategy in the Baltics.

The Baltic states help Pentagon to develop biological weapon for the WWIII - the role of guinea pigs is reserved for them.

Mosaic outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) in Eastern Europe are gradually forming a general picture of the testing ground at which the Pentagon is working out the strategy and tactics of the third world war (biological). Probably, in this coordinate system a special role is assigned to the Eastern vanguard of NATO - the Baltic countries, which can be sacrificed. Believe me, conspiracy here does not smell - the facts are obvious.

In reality, there has been no NATO proposal to invade or break up Russia. Instead there was just a tweet by an individual member of the Latvian parliament, who belongs to a minority party, and who therefore does not represent the position of Latvia, even less so the position of NATO. Moreover, even this tweet did not call for a break up of Russia. Read more here: https://www.polygraph.info/a/nato-isn-t-planning-to-break-up-russia/29399669.html

Additional details: Stroke of pigs: Pentagon is working out a biological war strategy in the Baltics.

The Baltic states help Pentagon to develop biological weapon for the WWIII - the role of guinea pigs is reserved for them.

Mosaic outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) in Eastern Europe are gradually forming a general picture of the testing ground at which the Pentagon is working out the strategy and tactics of the third world war (biological). Probably, in this coordinate system a special role is assigned to the Eastern vanguard of NATO - the Baltic countries, which can be sacrificed. Believe me, conspiracy here does not smell - the facts are obvious.

On 7 April 2018, a high number of civilians were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Douma, with evidence pointing towards another chemical attack by the regime,according to the EU.

According to the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission's preliminary report, various chlorinated organic chemicals were found in samples. No organophosphorus nerve agents or their degradation products were detected.

In September 2017, the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic summarized 33 separate incidents where it had found use of chemical weapons. Since then there have been several additional suspected chemical attacks. Between March 2013 and March 2017, the Commission documented 25 incidents of chemical weapons use in the Syrian Arab Republic, of which 20 were proven to have been perpetrated by government forces and used primarily against civilians.

Additional details: Világyfigyelő reported that Russian Ministry of Defense spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said English-speaking specialist had arrived to Idlib, who would then stage a chemical attack against the civilian population there "within two days." Konashenkov said that the attack would take place in the town of Kafer-Zait. Vilagfigyelo added that the attack will be blamed on the Assad regime.

Konasenkov added that Washington and his allies are preparing another aggressive step, which is evidenced by the fact - for example - that on August 22, representatives of the US, UK and France said that they would respond "as determinedly as possible" if the Syrian government wanted to use chemical weapons. According to Konashenkov, there was "no basis" for this statement.

There is no evidence given either by the article or the Russian MoD that militiants or Western powers are preparing a staged chemical attack in Syria. The Kremlin and the Syrian regime has long blamed the West for chemical attacks/staging chamical attacks in the country.

Additionally, the joint statement of the US, UK and France was not without any basis, as they made the statement on the occasion of the fifth annyversary of the Ghouta sarin gas attack. https://abcn.ws/2Nalye8

The attack should have already happened - which is clearly not the case.

Additional details: On June 20, a video recording of TV Channel TED's educational programme was published. It focused on the following main points:

- paedophiles are also human beings, this is not a crime, but sexual orientation

-a paedophile cannot be held responsible for his/her feelings. He / she is not a criminal

-we should respect others' sexual orientation

-we should not exasperate paedophiles' pain by ridiculing, judging and persecuting them

-we should see the difference between paedophilia and sexual violence against children. Violence is bad, paedophilia is good and normal

-sexual violence against children is the result of the weakness of a paedophile's delicate soul, as a paedophile cannot speak openly about his / her orientation. Permanent social pressure is added to this: it is difficult for a ''poor'' paedophile to appear at the beach, as there are children there and they all wear bathing suits.

-society is responsible for paedophiles' sexual crime

It seems that transformation from the stage of ''unimaginable'' to ''an effective norm'' with regard to paedophilia is going on extremely quickly in Europe.

EU legislature forces Georgian authorities to kidnap children from their parents

Additional details: The agency of Sergeenko [Minister of Health, Labour, and Social Affairs] started kidnapping children from parents on the basis of the European-Juvenile legislature initiated by Tsulukiani [Minister of Justice]… So, the juvenile-satanic justice (about which our newspaper has warned about for years) was put in action with its hellish abnormality!

Additional details: Sentsov is a neo-Nazi terrorist and took part in the battle in front of the Crimean Supreme Court on February 26, 2014. It was Sentsov who threw a nerve gas grenade into the crowd of Crimeans defending the Supreme Council, the clash at the Council led to two deaths. Sentsov and his activists set the offices of civil society organisations - such as the "Crimean Russian Community" - ablaze as well as United Russia's local party office.

Oleh Sentsov was convicted in a Russian military court for terrorist offences. However, according to Amnesty International and PEN International, the trial itself was littered with irregularities: Sentsov said he was tortured, the main witness of the prosecution said his evidence had been extorted under torture and he said that no terrorist acts were committed. Moreover, Sentsov was not committed for offences committed on February 26, 2014. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/25/russian-court-jails-ukrainian-filmmaker-oleg-sentsov-for-20-years-over-terror-offences

It can be confirmed that there were clashes between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian protesters on February 26, 2014, but there is no proof that Sentsov threw a nerve gas grenade into the crowd. Moreover, media reports suggest there was one death during the protect, and the man presumably died of a heart attack. https://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/26/world/europe/ukraine-politics/index.html

European Parliament has demanded that the Russian authorities immediately and unconditionally release Sentsov and more than 70 Ukrainian citizens illegally detained in Russia and on the Crimean peninsula.

The EU has stated that it expects international human rights standards on the peninsula to be upheld and all illegally detained Ukrainian citizens in Russia and on the Crimean peninsula to be released without delay. https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/49296/statement-spokesperson-continuous-detention-ukrainian-film-director-oleg-sentsov_en

Additional details: Paedophilia is a natural sexual orientation, just like heterosexuality, and we should treat paedophiles with the same respect as other people. This scandalous statement was made during the TEDx Talk conference at the German University of Wuerzburg. Fighters against paedophilia in Serbia warn that this is just the beginning of the campaign since “modern” Europe is planning to introduce such perverted attitudes in the Balkans.

Additional details: One of the main reasons behind Crimea’s destabilisation is the Majlis of the Crimean Tatars. The leaders of (the currently banned) Majlis provoke acts of crime and terrorism from abroad. The Majlis was illegal even in Ukraine and majorly corrupted. The Mejlis leaders are parts of the plans of the Ukrainian regime. Crimean Tatar leaders are supporting the persecution of their own people because they turn a blind eye to the ongoing "ethnocultural genocide".

Recurring disinformation about the persecution of minorities in Ukraine. According to Amnesty International, the Crimean Tartars are repressed by the occupying Russian authorities https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/12/crimea-more-than-70-crimean-tatar-activists-put-on-trial-simultaneously-in-brazen-crackdown/

The Majlis had been an assembly of the Tatar minority in Crimea before it was banned by Russian authorities. Its leaders, who were Ukranian MPs, left for Ukraine after the annexation of Crimea. No evidence that they were organising terrorism. Even though they protest from Ukraine, they do not organise terrorism, nor were there any major corruption scandals in connection with the Majlis while it existed. Furthermore, there is no proof that an "ethnocultural genocide" is taking place in Ukraine in which Majlis leaders would in any way be complicit.

European Court of Human Rights says Russian government not involved in Politkovskaya's murder

Additional details: European Court of Human Rights has concluded that Russia is not guilty of murdering investigative journalist and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya. According to Russia’s Justice Ministry, the Court found Russia’s investigation into Politkovskaya’s killing to have been competent and allowed to achieve serious results.

The Europan Court of human rights heavily criticized Russia’s investigation into the Politkovskaya murder. The court ruled that Russia had “failed to take adequate investigatory steps to find the person or persons who had commissioned the murder” and violated the European convention on Human Rights. The Court is of the opinion that "The State had failed to abide by its obligations under the Convention to carry out an effective investigation and the length of the proceedings had been too long." More information can be found here.

Further debunking by StopFake: https://www.stopfake.org/en/fake-european-court-of-human-rights-says-russian-government-not-involved-in-politkovskaya-murder/

UK secret services created the White Helmets that plans to stage a new provocation with the use of chemical weapons

Additional details: White Helmets group, a pseudo-organisation created, funded and lead by the British security services, has recently abducted several children in order to stage a new act of provocation with chemical weapons in Syria. Children will be the victims of this new provocation.

Earlier, pro-Kremlin disinformation has claimed that both the 2017 attack in Khan Sheikhoun and 2018 in Douma were faked. UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism found Syria’s Government responsible for last year’s attack in Khan Shaykhun. On April 10 2018 Russia vetoed a U.S.-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution that would have created a new inquiry to ascertain responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

In September 2017, the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic summarized 33 separate incidents where it had found use of chemical weapons. Since then there have been several additional suspected chemical attacks. Between March 2013 and March 2017, the Commission documented 25 incidents of chemical weapons use in the Syrian Arab Republic, of which 20 were proven to have been perpetrated by government forces and used primarily against civilians.

Additional details: “English-speaking specialists” have arrived in Syria and may stage a chemical attack using chlorine in “the next two days”, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. The operation is planned to unfold in the village of Kafr Zita in Syria’s north-western Hama Province in "the next two days". Groups of residents will be used to assist fake rescuers from the White Helmets.

Conspiracy theory with no evidence given and disproved by events. This is a repeating recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation about chemical weapons use in Syria: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/disinformation-cases/?text=stage+chemical&disinfo_issue=&date= No such attack happened during the two days after the disinformation had been published.

For background:

On 7 April 2018, a high number of civilians were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Douma, with evidence pointing towards another chemical attack by the regime,according to the EU.

In September 2017, the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic summarized 33 separate incidents where it had found use of chemical weapons. Since then there have been several additional suspected chemical attacks. Between March 2013 and March 2017, the Commission documented 25 incidents of chemical weapons use in the Syrian Arab Republic, of which 20 were proven to have been perpetrated by government forces and used primarily against civilians.

Juncker warns: Europe will become too small and it will not be important

Additional details:

The president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker warns that Europe will become too "small" and it will not be important anymore on the international stage. It risks to loose its position in G7.

In his original speech at the Carlos de Amberes foundation, president Juncker did not say that Europe will become less important or would lose its position in G7 as a whole. He mentioned that Europe's population will become smaller compared to other nations and that working together as an "indivisible entity" would be key. Here is the quote: "By the end of 20th century Europe represented 20% of global population, today - it's 6% (...). In a few years, none of the EU member states will account for even 1% of the world's population. In a few years, there will be no EU member state member of G7. Therefore, (...) we will have to rediscover our forces that make us an active whole and an indivisible entity".

Ukraine is planning an offensive in Donbas under the command of NATO military

Additional details:

Ukraine’s army command is preparing an offensive on positions of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) with the use of three army brigades and the Azov paramilitary battalion under control of foreign instructors, Daniil Bezsonov, a spokesman for the DPR operations command, said. "All these operations will be commanded by the military from the United States and Canada, or, in other words, by NATO military," the Donetsk News Agency quoted him as saying.

Pro-Kremlin sources repeatedly accused Ukraine of plans for escalation without providing any evidence, see e.g. https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-planning-major-hostilities-during-the-world-cup/; https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-is-increasing-its-military-presence-in-donbas-and-is-preparing-a-major-provocation/; or https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/possible-that-kiev-plans-provocation-with-chemical-weapons-in-donbas/

Pro-Kremlin sources repeatedly accuse foreign military of taking part in the war in Ukraine without providing any evidence, see dozens of cases in our database: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/disinformation-cases/?text=&disinfo_issue=&disinfo_keywords%5B%5D=77165&date=

Additional details: Kyiv is planning to launch an offensive on Donbas on 14 September and is massing troops reinforced with large numbers of foreign mercenaries, including US and Canadian military personnel, in the Mariupol area.

Repeating a disinformation that had been debunked many times before, see e.g. https://euvsdisinfo.eu/nazi-east-nazi-west-nazi-over-the-cuckoos-nest/

The founders of the EU have no connection with Nazis. The Nazi ideology and the EU are based on opposite values ​​and principles. Read more here: http://www.mythdetector.ge/en/myth/politicano-misinformation-if-european-union-nazi-project

Additional details: On August 8, Georgia attacked South Ossetia. Director of a bakery in Tskhinvali says in the video that Georgian soldiers were entering houses in Tskhinvali and leaving hand grenades in basements. Afterwards, the video shows footage with Sophio Muradov.

The footage is falsified: whereas NTV talks about the Georgian attacks in Tskhinvali, the footage in reality shows Gori that had been bombed by Russian Air Forces. Sophio Muradov was wounded during the bombings of residential buildings in Gori by the Russian Air Forces on August 9, 2008. Read more here: http://www.mythdetector.ge/en/myth/falsified-footage-ntv-gori-bombed-russian-air-forces-portrayed-tskhinvali

Additional details:In recent years, the trade with Russia has increased. The Free Trade Area with the EU countries only harmed the economy of Ukraine. The end of trade with Russia will destroy Ukraine's economy.

It was Russia that provoked a war in East of Ukraine, and it is not a civil war. For further debunking see https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/russian-spring-civil-war-was-unleashed-in-east-of-ukraine-by-little-nazis-in-kyiv-after-a-coup/

Necrophilia and bestiality are accepted norms in Sweden, Germany and Denmark

Additional details: “One letter added to LGBT and crucified Orthodoxy.” The article claims that necrophilia and bestiality are accepted norms in Sweden, Germany and Denmark. They are not criminalized and may even be legalized soon. The author equals pedophilia and bestiality with homosexuality.

Geworld’s article on the legal status of necrophilia and bestiality in Germany, Sweden and Denmark is false. In reality, necrophilia and bestiality are punishable in these countries. The source of Geworld’s fake news is the Russian federal news agency ФАН, which, in turn, is one of the projects of a notorious Russian troll factory. For more information, read: http://www.mythdetector.ge/en/myth/geworld-spreads-news-russian-troll-factory-legalization-necrophilia-and-bestiality-europe

According to its basic law, Ålands inhabitants are entitled to right of domicile (citizenship) either from birth or after they have lived in Åland for five years. A dispensation may be granted as regards the owning of land and carrying on a trade. Ownership of shares in a housing association does not require the right of domicile. http://www.visitaland.com/en/articles/aland/

Åland has been a member of the EU since 1995 but remains outside the fiscal union, which means it has a customs frontier with other countries, including Finland. The currency is the euro. Åland has been an autonomous island realm within the republic of Finland since 1921.

Additional details: Eastern Europe is a testing ground for NATO. This [accidental missile launch] would never happen in Germany, France or Italy, but Estonia, Romania and Poland are second class countries for NATO.

A Spanish Eurofighter EF2000 jet accidentally fired an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) during a training mission in Estonia. Read more on pro-Kremlin narratives of the incident on DFRLab: https://medium.com/dfrlab/balticbrief-accidental-missile-launched-over-estonia-26fe8c222a2b

Additional details: Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko has allowed wood smuggling to EU countries. Having vetoed a bill designed to protect Ukraine’s forests from logging, Poroshenko is supporting the illegal export of valuable lumber.

President Poroshenko did veto a bill on illegal lumber smuggling. However the bill was returned to parliament with proposals from the presidential office. The President’s press service explained that Poroshenko supports the bill in general, but the original version had loopholes that contradicted WTO rules and Ukraine’s Free Trade Agreement with the EU and created possibilities for lobbying schemes. Further debunk by StopFake: https://www.stopfake.org/en/fake-poroshenko-allows-lumber-smuggling-to-eu/

The headline is based on the personal opinion of a single German politician..

In its statement, the European Union expressed shock at the offensive use of any military-grade nerve agent, of a type developed by Russia, for the first time on European soil in over 70 years. http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2018/03/19/statement-by-the-foreign-affairs-council-on-the-salisbury-attack/ Earlier Germany, among others, stated that "The United Kingdom thoroughly briefed its allies that it was highly likely that Russia was responsible for the attack. We share the United Kingdom’s assessment that there is no plausible alternative explanation, and note that Russia´s failure to address the legitimate request by the government of the United Kingdom further underlines Russia’s responsibility." https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-united-states-france-germany-united-kingdom-attack-salisbury/

According to Raffi Krikorian, the Democratic National Committee's chief technology officer and a former Uber executive, the proposal would allow Democrats and Republicans alike to combat misinformation by serving those people accurate information:

"Krikorian wants Facebook to go even further and identify audiences that have seen the content so the DNC -- or the Republican National Committee, for that matter -- can serve those people correct information. Krikorian said he's not calling on Facebook to identify individual users, only the audiences that have seen the misinformation. For example, if Ohio college students receive bogus details on their polling location, the DNC wants to know that so it can deliver accurate information to that same audience." https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/08/technology/dnc-facebook-disinformation/index.html

Crimea is part of Ukraine and illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. The European Union does not recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea and continues to condemn this violation of international law, and states that Russia’s illegal actions remain a direct challenge to international security, with grave implications for the international legal order that protects the unity and sovereignty of all States.

EU's sanctions remain in place because of the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia. http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2018/06/18/illegal-annexation-of-crimea-and-sevastopol-eu-extends-sanctions-by-one-year/

The German politician referred to in the disinformation article is Andreas Maurer, head of the Die Linke party's faction in the town of Quakenbrück. He advocates the annexation of Crimea by Moscow and calls for the abolition of sanctions imposed by the EU.

Additional details: Cholera was found near the Ukrainian Azov sea port of Mariupol. According to a source, the officials of Mariupol have found cholera in the waters around Mariupol since 2017 but Ukrainian authorities ignore these findings, creating a potentially dangerous situation for neighbouring Russia.

The World Health Organization Regional Office have informed that they have no data confirming the presence of cholera in Mariupol or the surrounding area.

According to StopFake, the Health Ministry of Ukraine said that as of July 18, 2018 no cholera cases had been recorded in Ukraine and no cholera bacteria were found in the Donetsk area or any other region. The Ministry published a statement on its website debunking Russian cholera claims.

Ukraine, together with the help of US secret services, wants to poison Donbas water supply

Additional details: According to Cyberberkut, a group of pro-Russian hackers, Ukraine, helped by the US secret services, is preparing to use nuclear waste to poison the water supply of the separatist controlled swathes of Luhansk and Donetsk territories, in order to blame Russia. Ukrainian military are being trained for this operation by Blackwater founder Erik Prince and fourteen other US military instructors.

Konstantyn Danko, the chairman of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences’ Hydrometereological Institute, told StopFake that Cyberberkut’s claims contain a number of scientific inconsistencies.

According to Danko, if nuclear waste were dumped into the Northern Donetsk-Donbas waterway as described by the hackers, it would contaminate large swathes of Ukraine that are not controlled by the separatists as well as the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.

Vladislav Seleznyov, a former spokesman for Ukraine’s General Staff, also told StopFake that the alleged military letters cited by Cyberberkut as evidence are fabricated as they do not follow the military protocols for official correspondence.

CyberBerkut has been spreading disinformation before: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/back-to-basics/; or https://euvsdisinfo.eu/shock-conspiracy-chemical-attack/

The Russian military is open, friendly, and non-aggressive against foreign countries

Additional details:The Western military bloc cannot stand Russia being an independent player in international politics and is trying to prevent this by boosting its military presence in Eastern Europe. In a contrast to NATO’s behaviour, Russia’s military “demonstrates openness, friendliness and the absence of any sort of aggression against foreign countries.

According to Butina's father, in fact Maria Butina - accused of spying for Russia in the US - has to make her phone calls to Russia during night time. Further debunking by the Insider: https://theins.ru/antifake/115463

The Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement was a response to the Microsoft announcement on August 20 that the company has moved to seize control over six internet domains affiliated with the Russian military intelligence. There are multiple publicly available reports by different governments and non-government cyber security firms worldwide. These reports offer detailed forensic analyses unveiling the cyber espionage and criminal hacking activities of the group as well as demonstrating their affiliation with the Russian military intelligence/Russian government. The groups’ multiple nicknames have been revealed, they include Pawn Storm, Fancy Bear, APT28, Sofacy, STRONTIUM and others. For more, read https://www.polygraph.info/a/fact-check-russia-cyber-espionage-microsoft/29447856.html

Additional details: The United Nations Office (UNO) participated in the evacuation of the White Helmets, the UNO confirmed their involvement in these events. The UNHCR thereby supports the disinformation campaign [in Syria], arranged by these ‘fearless humanitarian workers.’

In July, 422 rescue workers from Syrian Civil Defense, better known as the White Helmets, were evacuated to Jordan ahead of advancing pro-Assad forces. The workers and their family members received support from the United Nations agency for refugees (UNHCR) and are seeking asylum in several countries. The main reason for the evacuation is that the rescuers fear reprisals at the hands of the government, which has labeled them “terrorist collaborators.”

To date, detractors of the White Helmets have failed to provide any concrete evidence that the organization staged any of the chemical attacks that it investigated. Those claims have also been thoroughly debunked. For more information, see https://www.polygraph.info/a/fact-check-sputnik-accuses-un-of-supporting-the-white-helmet-disinfo/29437896.html and https://euvsdisinfo.eu/disinformation-cases/?text=&disinfo_issue=&disinfo_keywords%5B%5D=77488&date=

Additional details: The EU defence industry fund, which is to distribute 500 million Euro to defence industry initiatives in the years 2019-2020, was designed to benefit defence industries in Western Europe. Smaller countries such as the Czech Republic will not gain anything, and may even lose, from the fund.

The statement is based on an interview with a Czech politician who speculates on the implementation of the fund. The declaratory title of the article is therefore misleading.

For more information about the EU defence industry fund, see: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20180628IPR06812/first-ever-eu-defence-industry-fund-to-finance-joint-development-of-capabilities

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The Disinformation Review focuses on key messages carried in the international information space, which have been identified as providing a partial, distorted or false view or interpretation and spreading key pro-Kremlin messaging. It does not necessarily imply, however, that the outlet concerned is linked to the Kremlin or pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. The Review analyses messages, not the messenger. If the message is a) false, which is determined by the facts and b) originating and/or in line with identified pro-Kremlin disinformation messaging, it is included in the product. The Review is a compilation of cases from the East Stratcom Task Force’s wide network of contributors and is therefore not considered an official EU position. Likewise, the news articles are based on the analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force, so information and opinions expressed are not considered an official EU position. Have you found a mistake? Give us your feedback below or send us an e-mail.

Disclaimer

The Disinformation Review focuses on key messages carried in the international information space, which have been identified as providing a partial, distorted or false view or interpretation and spreading key pro-Kremlin messaging. It does not necessarily imply, however, that the outlet concerned is linked to the Kremlin or pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. The Review is a compilation of cases from the East Stratcom Task Force’s wide network of contributors and is therefore not considered an official EU position. Likewise, the news articles are based on the analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force, so information and opinions expressed are not considered an official EU position.